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Technology is adding a new dimension to modern Indian theatre. For 'Mahabharata -The Epic Tale', the production team used LED screens, hired a graphic designer, recorded background score and used high-quality laser lights to recreate Hastinapur and make the audience feel like its praja

Good theatre has always been about transcending reality and entering a tale brought alive by directors’ vision, actors’ performances and audiences’ imagination. And now, technology is adding an entirely new dimension to the mix. Whether it is a flying Krishna blessing the audience or snow falling over a scene set in Kashmir, the increasing use of technology in theatre production is transporting the audiences to other worlds in no time.
Indian productions are now embracing latest technology to enhance the experience for viewers. A slew of software is making music composition, lighting, sound operation, and even scheduling of auditions and rehearsals easier. Automated winches, moving lights, programmable boards and LED screens are creating fantasy worlds on stage.

Creating worlds on the stage like never beforeQuasar Padamsee, co-founder at Q Theatre Productions, says, “Technology has had a huge impact on the making of plays, allowing theatre-makers to create worlds they could not have thought possible before. Probably, the most overt use of technology has been in the form of LED screens, which now make up the backdrops in multiple plays. At the flick of a switch, one can go from a battlefield to the interior of a castle. A lot of big shows around the country have used this successfully and effectively, including
Zangoora-The Gypsy Prince, Jhumroo, Balle Balle, Sound Of Music, Sing India Sing, Mughal-E-Azam, and so on.” He adds, “A few years ago at a theatre fest, the 2B Theatre from Canada brought an incredible production to Mumbai, which was like a graphic novel coming to life. The only 3-D (real) elements were a couple of chairs, a hospital gurney and the actors.”
Shruti Sharma, show director for
Disney’s Aladdin, says, “Lately, everyone has been talking about technology in theatre, perhaps only in terms of seeing special effects on stage. But technology has been a huge contributor in the execution of large-scale productions – seamless cueing of shows, in-show communication between multiple operation channels, sync between LEDs, lights, sound etc. A lot of technical detail is actually behind the scenes. In
Aladdin’s magic carpet sequence – one of the most crucial in the show – LED kinetic spheres were used to create the illusion of a star-studded sky. The spheres moved in sync with the carpet, which made it look like the stars were dancing.”
Padamsee adds, “In two of my productions, technology has been a part of the actual storytelling.
Warchild, in the early 2000s, used a carousel projector as the only source of light. It was a scene of a Holocaust survivor’s interrogation by two faceless questioners. With each question, different images were projected on the actor. The other was
Acid, the story of a news anchor and an acid attack survivor. Images displayed on the large backdrop showed the characters’ psychological state.”

In 'Aladdin’s' magic carpet sequence, LED kinetic spheres were used to create the illusion of a star-studded sky. The show’s director says, “The spheres moved in sync with the carpet and made it look like the stars were dancing.”

The script must guide the way, technology is to add valueMany, however, caution against going too far. “Theatre is a people’s medium. When technology is overdone, the danger is that the audiences never fully immerse themselves in the story but get carried away by the special effects. The story must itself demand the technology, otherwise there is a danger of disconnect,” Sharma says.
Ashwin Gidwani, producer and MD at AGP World, says, “Each production has its own requirements that originate from the written word, the script. The author creates a vision for the director. It is then up to the director to integrate all elements, including technology. For our production
Blame It On Yashraj, we used LED backdrop. For
Barff, we showed snowfall in the finale. In Devdas, besides 1,800sqft of LED walls, we used several interesting devices to make the actors fly.”
Echoing the sentiment, Padamsee says, “Recently, Indian Ensemble, a multi-lingual theatre company in Bengaluru, used projection mapping wonderfully. Yet, a huge part of the theatre magic is the audience’s imagination. So, while projections may help with backdrops, one still needs the teacup or the spoon to be real.”
“There were plays, such as
Twelve Angry Jurors, Anand Express and
Sing India Sing, which were heavily reliant on technology. As a viewer, I enjoyed them immensely. In fact, Sing India Sing used technology to get the audience to vote live for the winner every night. However, the script must determine the use of technology, not the other way round. My latest piece,
Every Brilliant Thing, is devoid of almost any technology, except for the software that plays the music cues,” he adds.
“The question is, technological or not, how does any addition on stage enhance the narrative? Technology’s purpose is to add value to production,” Padamsee asserts.

The 'Alchemist', directed by Mahesh Dattani, a theatrical adaptation of Paulo Coelho’s 1988 novel, boasted of fluid sets, intelligent lighting, and powerful actors who brought alive on stage the symbols, omens and philosophies of Coelho’s book

Now, audience wants more immersive experiencesIn a world where entertainment has entered the zone of virtual and augmented reality, even the theatre audience expects an upgrade. Gidwani says, “The audiences are now drawn to immersive experiences and do not relate to conventional theatre. Things like a teletype, which allows audience to read subtitles on an LED screen put up above the stage in a foreign language production, draws in more audience.”
Sharma says, “If used well, technology allows a director to manoeuvre audience’s emotions even more firmly, especially while creating larger-than-life moments on stage. Whether it is a flying carpet that actually takes off in front of an audience or making the cave of wonders truly wondrous with the use of LEDs and animation, technology definitely helps make these moments grander.”
Actress Smita Bansal, who marked her debut as a scriptwriter in theatre with the play
Hello Zindagi, says, “Theatre in India has definitely evolved a lot over the years. Earlier, it was more about people coming together and performing for the love of theatre. Even costumes used to be basic, it was like
ghar se hi laye aur pehen liya. Now, producers and technical teams have realised that the audience needs more than what meets the eye. They expect a larger-than-life experience.”

“When I started doing theatre almost 25 years ago,
hum logon ko darr rehta tha ki phone ki ghanti time par bajegi ya nahi. We would have to give cues to the sound department. Now, the sound and light designers are so alert that it is a treat to see them perform. Even when I go as audience, I look forward to getting entertained, because I have spent a considerable amount of time and money in stepping out,” she adds.

Locations and costs can add to the challengesAll this grandeur and audio-visual delight does come at a cost. “Most of theatre, traditionally, has been analogue, and as we move into more complicated systems, we are also faced with the challenge of ageing buildings and auditoriums that have not been constructed keeping these advancements in mind. Very few venues have WiFi, let alone the closed network systems required to run some of the more complicated programmes,” says Padamsee.

He adds, “A live show is a living, breathing thing. It changes from moment to moment. But machines and computerised technologies such as hydraulics, etc, have to be calibrated to perform at specific times, as they do not take into account any other variables, such as an actor’s movements. It is the actors then who need to adjust to technology. Without enough set-up time, this can cause some harrowing moments.”

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